ALBANY – With the Giants having Jeremy Shockey to go over the middle more, Tiki Barber figures to get the ball on third down less.

“Jeremy’s going to revolutionize us,” Barber says, “give us more options on third down, me more freedom to get loose.”

OK, but if Daryl Jones breaks a punt return or two in the preseason, Barber will lose his special team job.

“I’ll give it up if there is someone capable of doing it,” Barber says. “If it means better field position, fewer fumbles, it helps the Giants.”

Of course, all this could work in favor of a 200-pound running back who handled the ball a health-hazardous 238 times last season. If Barber is in one piece in a couple of years, it actually might force the Giants to renegotiate the final seasons of the six-year, $25 million deal he took two seasons ago from that well-known charlatan Ernie Accorsi.

No less an authority on the subject than Michael Strahan thinks Barber got clipped in taking a $7 million signing bonus divided into two parts, so if Barber wants that first nickel Wellington Mara ever made, fewer touches ultimately is the way to go.

“I don’t think about that,” Barber says. “I care about winning.”

What a dirty rotten shame it is, then, that Barber plays on a team that doesn’t, at least not enough to put a penny more than $17 million into a signing bonus for its best defensive player, so he can play all four positions on the defensive line all by himself.

You can book it: Strahan is outta here at season’s end, bound for the NFC North and two tough tests a year against an every play, all-out competitor like Brett Favre, not staying with any “team that is sacrificing” to be a “lame duck,” as Barber is bound to wind up some rainy day, running behind an offensive line made up of cheap free agents.

There is an “I” in Michael and two in Tiki, and unfortunately, neither is in the back of his head to watch for teammates who predominantly side with Strahan. Here’s the code: Everybody’s money is his own business, never mind that under the salary cap that code necessarily hits the road, and so do you when too much money has to go to too few players.

With Az Hakim already out of St. Louis, Marshall Faulk just accepted only $12 million guaranteed out of his $44 million over seven years, which makes sense for the best player in the NFL only because he wants to play for the best team.

Faulk’s deal is not good news for Strahan, and our heart bleeds. But don’t sing any sad songs for Barber, a year removed from the Super Bowl to a reduced role, behind a bargain-basement offensive line. He still eats a free lunch at training camp every day – at a different table from Strahan’s – and, as the Giants’ best offensive player, will get the ball plenty.

“Change doesn’t scare me,” Barber said. “A philosophical change from a typical NFC East running team to a wide-open speed team is healthy. If we’re less experienced this year, then like Jim Fassel says, it’s up to us veterans to do more and the young guys will follow.”

Tiki Barber still buys into the program, giving you one less reason to regret buying tickets. However the Giants use Barber, it will still put the right heart in the right place.